


Moonlit escapades

by BlueflowersandWings



Series: Tales of a lost kingdom [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Magic, Magical competions, Minor Character Death, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot Twists, Tags May Change, Trauma, You Have Been Warned, light mystery, long chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-25 14:36:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17727062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueflowersandWings/pseuds/BlueflowersandWings
Summary: "Kuroo-san, I still think this is a very bad idea.""Oh, stop thinking so much about things, Akaashi. If we succeed, maybe we will be able to sneak awaytogetheronce in a while- maybe, we'll even get to see the Statues of Prophecy this time around, and wouldn't it be so much fun?""... I don't think I would ever feel the need to sneak out of the castle at night, but thank you for the offer. Also, the Statues of Prophecy most probably don't exist, Kuroo-san."Or,Fantasy! AU- The land of Nekoma had always posed as a great mystery to Kuroo, and when he finally manages tovisitit, he feels like he has achieved everything that he had ever wanted in his life. Little did he know that his life was going to slowly change from that point of time, with him getting tangled up in a mess of friendship and war and magic because:1) He is a clueless stranger who has a tendency to bump into both fire-posts and other strangers,2) At first sight, he finds himself very interested in a snarky blonde boy with dark glasses, and3)All the guys he met at the classy, club-like place he discovered, were absolutely intriguing and absolute assholes all at the same time.





	1. Prologue: The prince who fled

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, this is my first ever Haikyuu! story, and well, I hope that it turns out just as I planned it to be. I tried to make it as original as possible, and put in a lot of thought and effort behind this chapter, so I would be really happy if anyone enjoyed this. I don't have anything else to say, other than to wish a lot of patience and a 'Happy reading', but if you liked it, well then... see you at the end! :))
> 
> (Also, this is unedited, so sorry for any grammatical mistakes and typos. Please try and read till the last of this chapter, as this is just the prologue, and though it may look boring at first, it will gradually turn interesting... I swear...)
> 
> Enjoy!!

  


**"Once upon a time, some long long years back from now, there was a great kingdom, and the kingdom had a very rich and... interesting history.**

 **"It was a home to brave, valiant rulers, and impossibly strong and loyal commoners- in its history of a few centuries, the kingdom had seen huge celestial dragons almost destroying the land in their fury, mysterious winged warriors from the slums who flew into the clouds like crows with shadowy dark wings, people who could breathe out fire from their hands, and freeze the land upon which they confidently walk with a small touch. The kingdom was vast, and glorious, but on the other hand, it was shrouded in misery and darkness, too. It had a culture like no other of its time, the people of the land and the magic of the Earth blending seamlessly as one here, and of the time about which I am talking about, there was a wise and noble King, a great castle housing the ruler and his extended family, and a land which you can still see if you peek just a little over the mountainous horizon.**

**"The King was just and fair, and his people were happy. The people living in the castle were cheerful and industrious, if not a little sly, and in this castle, there lived a prince."**

  


The low, heavy sound of light, incoming footsteps echoed around the heavily decorated, ornamented, and absolutely _empty_ corridors, and as the footfalls grew louder in their intensity, it paved way for some other, light noises to make themselves heard, too. The smooth swish of a lengthy crimson cape accompanied the light tinkling of bells that hung loosely from the drapes of the scarf that wrapped up his shoulders in a warm, comfortable embrace, and the moment he came into the clear view of the last corridor that lay between him and his destination, a lot more details about the young man's appearance and attire became clear to any stealthy onlooker.

  


_Smooth caramel skin, now marred hideously with new, bleeding scars and prominent, freshly healed scabs, stretched out into a broad pair of shoulders and longer, even stronger pair of hands swinging by his sides. Though his surroundings have drastically changed, aged considerably in pitiful neglect, the young man can still feel himself walking down these same passages as a younger boy, and roam carefree around the then stunning, incredibly lighted maze of the royal corridors._

  


The sound of a tuneless whistle echoes along his way, and his puckered out lips and the free bounce in his steps make him look boyishly younger than the gallant young noble he truly is.

  


_His lips are stretched out in a thin line, the roughly chapped ends curving down to preserve the shady silence of his broken-down surroundings, and his feet are as light as a prowling cat out to hunt at night. His face is set, the angles of his cheekbones strong, and the curve of his jaw sharpened handsomely, and though he looks incredibly young, his face is devoid of expression, and his eyes seemed to have aged years older than they ought to be._

  


**"He wasn't an actual prince- a noble, if you will- because he wasn't the son of the old King, nor the grandson, and he wasn't the only one who could ascend the throne once the King retired. He had many brothers- cousins-, and a few good friends in the castle, but the prince was a curious lad. He had lived in the castle for as long as he could remember, and had never known anything about, or met anyone from the other side of the impenetrable walls. As he grew up, he felt like he was, somehow, missing out on a lot of things that his life could have, if only he had been born on the land beyond the castle, far away from his reach."**

**_  
_ **

****__

The faint chirping of birds can be heard through the open, beautifully tinted and glass-paned windows, his long, vibrant cape flowing smoothly with the wind behind him. Intricate bracelets of gold and emerald clink around and adorn his wrists, while the elegant, feline insignia of the Nekoma kingdom shines brightly in front of his chest, carved carefully, and proudly displayed into the small golden clasp holding the balance between his multi-layered attire.

  


_The windows are shattered, their tinted glass panes broken and bent and twisted into a heavy disarray. Their disfigured forms cast strange, confusing shadows over the blood-stained floor and the walls of the corridor, and in the midst of this darkness, his long cascade of unruly hair blends in with the surroundings, while the silver hilt of his faithful sword blazes brightly from its place by his waist._

  


He does a small, twirl-like step abruptly, and then continues on like he never stopped, the cheery state of his mind never truly fading. At the far end of the corridor which he fast approaches, he can spot his destination, and he increases the frantic rhythm of his steps until moments later, he stands right before a majestically ornate door, its shiny wooden surface and metallic hinges carved into elaborate shapes and figures that abstractly resemble the vague likeliness of a crouching cat. With a heart palpitating a beat faster than his mind, he takes in a deep breath to mellow down the face-splitting grin that stretches his cheeks, and slowly, he puts out his hand and grabs strongly onto the golden latch of the impending doorway.

  


_This door in front of him may be the only way that could lead him to the answers he so desperately needed, and with his heart palpitating a beat faster than his mind, his teeth press down on his lips to quell the broken voice that threatens to break out of him, and with a shaky grip, he lightly turns down the rusty old handle of the impending doorway, and slowly opens it inwards._

  


  


"Hey, Akaashi!" Kuroo Tetsurou slams open the door to his room with a loud bang, his short, unruly dark hair defying all senses of human logic and gravity, and sticking pointedly up in all directions, while one part of it was carefully styled down to fall as a fringe just above his eye, and cover almost the entire right side of his face. The warm twinkle in his sole visible hazel-hued eye rivalled the brightness of his grin, and with long, purposeful strides, he entered the room with the proud air of a noble, and then immediately proceeded to flop down unceremoniously on the bed nearest to him, surrendering all control of his body to the sheets, and sprawling out his hands and legs carelessly around, in the most un-noble like way possible.

All across from the room, Kuroo's best friend cum unwilling childhood partner, Akaashi Keiji, sat upright upon the cream-cushioned couch positioned just near the open windows, situated directly perpendicular to the bed. He seemed absolutely unfazed by the sudden entrance and the anti-climatic retreat of his older friend into the bed covers in broad daylight, and just tilted his head slightly to give him a curt nod of acknowledgement, and greeted him with a polite, "Kuroo-san."

His soft, smooth, if not a little monotonous voice immediately made Kuroo sit upright upon the bed, a little of his energy from earlier creeping back into his veins. His grin is still plastered onto his face as he looks over at his friend, and owing it to the extensive experience of being stuck with the noble for too long in his life, Akaashi can safely assume that absolutely nothing of importance can be going on through Kuroo's mind right now.

"There there, Keiji," Kuroo drawls lazily, provocatively, using the other boy's first name only to try and rile him up. "You know I tell you not to call me _that_ anymore. We've been friends for so long, and we only differ a couple of years in age, so you can just call me Tetsurou."

As always, provocation has absolutely no effect on Akaashi, who merely lifts up a careful brow in response and says, "Though you insist on it so vehemently, I don't think that the other people of the castle would approve of such behaviour from any of our part. Such shows of _apparent disrespect_ can taint our images negatively, and though you don't care for yours' in any way, it could still cost me my job."

"But you aren't disrespecting me," Kuroo's pout is all but genuine, and though Akaashi is well used to his antics by now, he can never gain the power to not follow up with this act in his own little ways. He entertained Kuroo's dramatics nearly as frequently as Kuroo initiated them, and though it did nothing to improve the floundering aspects of their daily lives in any way- like Kuroo's deteriorating grades, and the dark circles becoming more prominent under Akaashi's eyes-, they still carried on, wasting their time with light, useless banter such as this. Really, sometimes the young valet doubted who actually the older one was among the two, but because he had seen Kuroo go through many things in the many years of their life spent together, Akaashi could safely conclude that though Kuroo was obviously the older one between the two, he really disliked acting his age most of the time.

  


Which, of course, sometimes posed both as a respite and also as a serious threat to his sanity in the midst of Akaashi's already very busy schedule.

  


"That might be true, Kuroo- _san_ " Akaashi's lips curved into a small smile at the affronted look on Kuroo's face at the jab, "But most people at the castle won't really believe that if we say so. After all, you're still a noble, and I'm still your valet."

Childishly, Kuroo whined, and buried his face under his arms, his hair a lot more disarrayed than it previously was- and heaving a great sigh, he remarked, "This castle is a really shitty place."

Akaashi didn't even bother to correct the noble on his use of such crude, borderline forbidden language, and instead, he just folded his arms across his chest, and waited until Kuroo finally came around the actual topic he intended to discuss with his valet. Keeping company to a giant ball of energy and uncanny wit for more than half of his life sure had its perks, and one of them was having developed an almost infinite amount of patience, to keep in check the constantly wandering mind of his older companion.

  


Peeking indiscreetly from in between his arms, Kuroo looked up to see his friend waiting patiently for the noble to start the _real_ conversation he wanted to have with him, and despite his immature act and deliberate show of laziness, a knowing grin spread out on Kuroo's lips- Akaashi always managed to figure him out.

  


Even after surpassing the whole of his teenage life and stepping onto the threshold of his twenties, Kuroo could undoubtedly state that Akaashi was still the most beautiful person he had ever met till date, and because his home was at the royal castle, and because he was used to seeing a lot of immaculately dressed, beautiful people everyday, it really was saying something. The valet had shortly cropped, slightly curled bluish-black hair, and could be always seen wearing the same white shirt and black tailored pants over his tall body, with a dark, half-sleeved button-down jacket thrown over it. His skin was lightly tanned, his slightly small face looking absolutely soft and inhumanely impassive all at the same time, but the most attractive feature of his face would definitely be his slanted, piercing teal eyes- according to Kuroo, 'those eyes could look at you for a moment, glimpse into the very depths of your soul, and unearth all of your deeply buried secrets simply in the blink of an eye'.

And if Akaashi was really known and revered around the castle for being an observant, intuitive, and surprisingly, a man privy to all sorts of secrets about all sorts of people... then, well, there could be no denying the truth behind Kuroo's statement.

  


"Akaashi," Kuroo, the handsome, self-acclaimed master of _intense_ provocation, still decided to draw out the conversation for as long as he could without actually diving _into_ the topic, but as he still got the same, expressionless reaction from the younger guy- which was to be expected, actually-, Kuroo sighed heavily once again, and finally decided to give up. On the couch, Akaashi straightened up a little in his seat as he picked out the air of final resignation of the noble from his usual antics, but his face immediately fell as Kuroo's next words registered in his ears.

  


"You do remember the things that we have planned out for tonight, right?"

  


**"So, together with his best friend in the palace, the prince devised a plan."**

  


This time, a genuine crease pulled between Akaashi's brows, and his face twisted into a small frown as he noticed the calm yet enigmatic, cat-like gleam in Kuroo's eyes as they met his own impassive gaze with rare conviction. His bright hazel eyes swirled with a mix of anticipation and purpose and determination, which was a genetic characteristic of all who had the Nekoma royal blood flowing through their veins, and at once, Akaashi knew that he couldn't say no. They had been discussing and planning this particularly risky endeavour only with one-sided consent and light blackmail for _months_ , but even now, Akaashi was inclined to try and talk Kuroo out of this ludicrous idea. Even though Kuroo could have initially persuaded him in helping into this proposal, the more time passed, the more Akaashi felt absolutely sure that this whole thing was going to blow up one day, that they would be found and punished, or worse, Kuroo could fall into some trouble and get himself hurt, and _Akaashi would not be there to help him._

Though he had seen just how strong Kuroo could truly be when danger befell him a couple of times, Akaashi still couldn't kick the completely rational worry and fear out of his system. He knew Kuroo was strong, and he _knew_ that this was still a very bad idea; he knew that he wouldn't be able to change Kuroo's mind, however much he reasoned with him, because risky as it was, maybe deep in his heart, even _he_ wanted him to set out by himself, enter the world that awaited him outside, and let Kuroo finally quench his thirst for exploration and adventure. After all, who was he to bind in the wings of a caged bird who was born into this world only to be set free? 

  


But the other, more rational and active part of his brain still urged Akaashi to try, at least once- and so, try he did. For one last time.

  


"Kuroo-san," he stated in his usual, but a slightly more urging voice, "I still think this is a very bad idea."

Kuroo's eyes narrowed down slightly, as if he had expected this, but his sly grin did not fade in the least. "Oh, stop thinking so much about things, Akaashi," he remarked firmly in a flippant voice, hands coming up to tuck themselves comfortably under his chin. "If our plan succeeds tonight, then it will be one of the greatest achievements of our lives, ever! I will get to see so many things, and meet all the people of this big, great kingdom that we were born into, but know nothing about in reality. If I succeed, maybe we will be able to sneak away _together_ once in a while, too- maybe we'll even get to see the Statues of Prophecy this time around, and wouldn't it be so much fun?"

Akaashi sighed visibly this time, knowing that he really won't be able to turn the set decision of his friend any longer. Still, in order to save some of his non-existent dignity in front of his sealed fate, he replied, "I don't think I would ever feel the need to sneak out of the castle at night, but thank you for the offer. Also, The Statues of Prophecy most probably don't exist, Kuroo-san."

"Ah," Kuroo made a wounded sound in his throat, his smile ruining the whole dramatic effect, "The limits within which your imagination is bound truly sadden me, Akaashi. I should have never let you inside the ruthless, calculated walls and studies of the castle when I took you in, my dear child."

Akaashi made a truly repulsed face at the remark then, which makes Kuroo's grin light up all the more brightly. "You failed your Ancient History exam last week, Kuroo-san," the younger boy retorts, feeling satisfied at the surprised noise from Kuroo which sounds _truly_ wounded this time, "So this ignorance towards reasoning and facts and actual history is really to be expected."

"You use honourifics to regard me, but your words hardly show any respect, Akaashi."

Akaashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes- he wasn't one for sarcastic comments or deliberate teasing, but sometimes, the chances to annoy Kuroo _back_ were truly too tempting to let them pass by. "This is why you have a supplementary lesson from Takeda-sensei tonight, too," he pondered out loud, but suddenly, something clicked into place in his mind. "Wait a second, Kuroo-san,- did you actually plan to escape the castle _specifically_ tonight only because you wanted to skip your studies?"

  


... A prolonged silence was what greeted Akaashi's sudden accusations, which only seemed to confirm his suspicions, and hold Kuroo guilty.

  


The young noble cleared his throat loudly, partly to fill up the tense silence, and partly to shield his consciousness just a little from Akaashi's absolutely livid, accusatory glare. "N-no," his voice failed to maintain its normalcy as it cracked at the first uttered syllable, but Kuroo continued, "Its- its not only that, Akaashi, definitely. It's just, we had been planning this escape for months and well-" he smiled a shaky grin to clear up his nervousness, "If I were to enjoy it fully, why not even dodge out the academic portions if I get the chance? It's just... convenient."

Akaashi couldn't believe the lengths his friend could resort to simply to avoid a few hours with his teachers in the locked up library rooms (reserved only for the royal tutoring classes), but since everything had already been planned out, and Akaashi had already promised to cover up for Kuroo tonight, he knew it would be stupid to back out now. Kuroo Tetsurou was a devious, manipulative royal delinquent though, that much was undoubtedly clear to him.

"Kuroo-san, how do you propose I cover up for you in front of _Takeda-sensei_?" Akaashi already had about three to five backup plans devised in his mind, to deceive Takeda-sensei from visiting Kuroo for the night, but he still needed the noble to understand the gravity of the situation, and that skipping over study lessons was _never_ going to work on Akaashi from then on. "If he insists on urgently seeing you, what shall I do?"

"Just say that I'm really, truly, feeling really sick," Kuroo suggested, shrugging his shoulder a little, as if getting caught by his History and Mathematics teacher in one of the most dangerous escapades in his life was the least of his concerns. "If he still insists on checking up on me, just say that I was feeling really disturbed as well, and wanted to be left alone for the night."

Honestly, Akaashi had _far_ more better excuses with which he could lie to the noble's teacher, but he praised Kuroo's originality in making up stories anyway. He knew that he would have a relatively easy time covering up for Kuroo's absence from the castle for the whole night, but he was sure that he was going to be worried sick for the noble's safety all the time he would be out, wandering unknown, and potentially dangerous territory. Kuroo was going to be the death of him one day, and still, Akaashi didn't know why he still kept on caring and helping the noble in his borderline crazy antics anyway.

Through the open, lightly tinted windows beside his head, Akaashi noticed as a thin ray of wintry sunlight crept into the room and fell daintily over the vermilion bed sheets of Kuroo's bed, and on his half-covered form that lay lazily buried among them. The light lit up his smoothly tanned skin and glinting hazel eyes beautifully, and if Akaashi had once been uncertain of the reason why he still kept on helping Kuroo in breaking most of the rules of the castle, all his doubts were washed away now.

  


It was because Kuroo Tetsurou was - transcending all of their professional, noble-valet relationship- his _best friend_ , and as he knew Kuroo would do anything for Akaashi, Akaashi knew that he would put his life on the line only to make the noble smile his cheery, slightly sly kind of grin, too.

__  


__

_/ / /_

  
The deep, low timbre of his voice rang hauntingly in the absolute silence of the eerily lighted enclosure- "Do you think that you are truly ready for this?"

A clear, medium-sized crystal sphere, filled with thick, white, foggy smoke swirling aimlessly inside it stood on top of a grotesque holder which looked like a human hand, but modified with dangerously long, glinting claws, and a large sapphire ring wrapped around its metallic ring finger. The cloaked man stood just in front of the glowing orb, looking intently at the glass even though the smoke inside moved about their same, unpredictable and slow movements. About a full minute passed by in silence, the man neither moving nor showing any signs of movement, and then suddenly, about thirty seconds later, a deep, but a little younger voice floated magically from inside of the orb, and in all seriousness, replied, "Yes, I am ready."

The cloaked man's face was hidden, but his malicious smirk could be felt from the feel of his voice as he lowly murmured, "Good. Now let's destroy the Kingdom of Nekoma together and fulfil our dreams, shall we?"

  


__

__

_/ / /_

  
"Please don't make me regret doing this, Kuroo-san." 

  


_**"And one night..."** _

  


The wild-haired, cat-eyed, sly-grinning noble may be his best (and only) friend in the whole of his life, but Akaashi was absolutely _not_ going to rein in his deepest, darkest feelings and frustrations if Kuroo managed to mess up this whole thing even in the remotest way possible. The thick, strong ladder made up of long plant roots, and sewn together with just a hint of a basic binding charm, felt foreign and almost dreadful in the far too tight grip of the internally petrified valet, and though Akaashi loved his job at the castle (and Kuroo) far more than anything else in the world, he swore by the stars that he would personally find and murder Kuroo if the noble failed to be back by the time the moon's soft light surrendered itself to the sun's blazing rays. 

  
(He still found himself confused on why exactly he was helping his friend in this risky escapade at all, but he just chalked it up to his tendency to doubt all of his choices when his _friend's_ life was probably on the line, and decided to rather concentrate on the current task he had in his hand.)

  


"Don't you worry Akaashi," Kuroo's grin was bright and excited and stilted just a little, almost making him look borderline crazy, but even Akaashi could feel the _insanity_ of what they were attempting to do as of the moment, and he really couldn't blame his friend. "I promise I'll come back by sunrise- just see that no one notices I'm gone, and I'll be back here in no time."

Akaashi's voice was unnervingly calm and absolutely detached from any kind of emotion as he said, "If you fail to come back before sunrise, I'm going to pull up the ladder and never let you in. And if you do get in somehow, I'm never helping you in this again, ever."

Kuroo's eyes shone with equal parts of mirth and gratitude, and under the hazy light of the moon that cleared up one's sight impossibly sharp, the noble was a regal sight to behold, with his tall, well-toned body disguised heavily within dark, shadowy robes, and an equally concealing hood covering a side of his handsome face partially. The moonlight and the shadows around blended exquisitely over his form to bring out the pin-prick lights in his orbs, the glinting spark of his silver earring on his right lobe, and the darkness of his messy hair underneath it all, and Akaashi tried to burn this image of him in his memory, lest he never saw Kuroo ever again. It was an unlikely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless, and Akaashi just wished that his uncharacteristic paranoia would not reap into a solidified outcome any time soon.

"I promise I'll come back," Kuroo swore, the grin never leaving his face, but his deep voice sounding absolutely serious and promising, and despite all of his worries and fears, Akaashi felt a small bubble of faith swelling up in his chest towards his friend. 

  


The noble could heavily come off as intense and provocative and just a little bit sly to people who had never met him before, but Akaashi knew that deep down, there was a part of him that still innocently wandered off and was easily excited- that there was a boy hiding under the guise of a man, who only ever wanted to find and know and explore things, get to know new and interesting people, and form bonds with them all, each of which could be unique in their own, individual way. Despite having access to every kind of wealth and pleasure and luxury a person could ever imagine to get a hold of, Akaashi knew that Kuroo had never been happy being bound within the confining walls of the Nekoma castle- his heart had always been somewhere else, somewhere bigger and far away, or maybe, this castle itself was too small to restrain the enigma that was Kuroo Tetsurou. 

He had grown up with false smiles and sugary-sweet assurances and political deceits being a part of his daily life, and thus, because he had hated every single moment wasted on them, Kuroo had always worked hard to be a person who his closest friends and family could always trust to look up to, to share their feelings, and believe in him to keep his word faithfully.

He just wanted to see what was at the other side of the palace walls, a kingdom he had only heard and mindlessly learned about from his teachers and attendants, but never really beheld with his own two eyes. He had been brought up as a candidate for the throne so that he could probably rule this empire as King one day, but how could one ever think about ruling the people when he didn't even knew how they looked, where they lived, what magic they used, and what they just did throughout their lives in general? This curiosity and confusion had given rise to Kuroo's irrational stubbornness against becoming the King since his teenage years, and though Akaashi felt that there was none other than Kuroo who could efficiently rule this country out of all the royal nobles, the valet understood his feelings to an extent, too. And that was a huge part of his reason that he was helping the noble in fleeing the castle late in the evening like this, too.

  


**_"...under the dark shadows of a moonlit evening..."_ **

  


Kuroo just wanted to explore this land outside- a place even Akaashi didn't had the fortune to visit-, and it was not because he wanted to be the King, but because he wanted to see his _true_ home- and though Akaashi couldn't go out to see it himself, if his friend managed to fulfil his lifelong dream with Akaashi's help, then Akaashi could consider his own wish getting fulfilled just a little, too.

  


Nodding his head a little with forced conviction, Akaashi held onto the ladder tightly as Kuroo skilfully jumped over from the highest balcony rail in the castle, and grasping onto the ladder with both of his hands, began climbing down the sharp descend onto the abandoned land at the back of the castle, protected only by a thin, weak wall of average height, beyond which lay the vast kingdom of Nekoma in all its lively, evening glory. Kuroo was going to a place where Akaashi would not be able to follow him and check up on him every few minutes, which was a first, but he was also going to a place where he would able to meet true, genuine people uncaring of the castle's rules and restrictions, which was also a first, so Akaashi decided to leave everything up to whatever fate had in store for both Kuroo and him for the rest of the night, and tried to put his mind at just a slight ease with these pacifying thoughts.

A soft whisper of _Akaashi_ caught in his ears in the quiet silence of the moonlit evening, and stepping closer to the rail a bit, Akaashi tilted his head down just a bit, so that he could properly hold the rope and still have a clear view of Kuroo hanging coolly midair, almost halfway down the ladder, and a lot more closer to absolute freedom than Akaashi had ever seen him to be. His face was adorned with that crooked, slightly bashful smile of his, and even though his voice was low, a tingle of surprise shivered down Akaashi's spine as the noble's words registered clearly in his ears, with the soft silence of the night thickly wrapping around and engulfing them.

  


"Thank you."

  


**_"...the prince fled away from the castle."_ **

  


The sharp teal eyes of the valet widened at the sudden show of genuine emotion from the noble, but a moment later, he breathed out a small sigh in exasperation, the air leaving his mouth condensing thickly at the chill of the air outside, and with a slight shake of the head, he accepted the gratitude warmly, but testily replied, "If you come in just an hour late, I'm still pulling the ladder out of your reach, _Kuroo_."

Kuroo smiled wide, and maybe that was the last Akaashi ever saw of him that night, because lost in his own swirling thoughts and clouded-up emotions, all he could make out of the noble's hasty retreat from the castle and him jumping over the wall, and out into the open land beyond, was blurred with nightly shadows and some ghosts of restrained moisture welling up in his eyes. Stepping back from the railing, Akaashi cast a careful glance at his own surroundings, careful to ensure that he was quite alone in the lonely corridor, and wiping his eyes lightly with the hem of his sleeve, he turned around and ventured back into the castle. His job here was done- it was all up to Kuroo now, and his only remaining duty was to cover up for the noble for the night, and patiently wait for his return.

The only duty left for him was to wait, and wait would he do- if this fateful night was not enough, then maybe for the next few eternities or so. Precisely, he would not rest until Kuroo returned safe and sound back to the castle, and he was ready to wait for as long as he would have to, to see that this task was well and truly accomplished.

  


__

_/ / /_

  


The escapade from the castle was undoubtedly the riskiest endeavour that Kuroo had ever planned and took part in in his life, because he was naturally a little too curious for his own good, and his unparalleled inquisitiveness and thirst for exploration had left very little space for the fear of consequences to properly set in. It was more of Akaashi's nature, to think about the repercussions of it all and try to act in the most rational way possible, and though Kuroo was far from being irrational, he had a little unhinged sense of determination and resolve to achieve what he wanted at all costs, and to go to any lengths possible- without really hurting anybody- to see through his quests till the end.

As he ran across the dark, and finally emerged victorious from the engulfing shadows of the Nekoma castle, Kuroo realized that he had never felt this alive in his life ever before.

  


**"Out side of the palace walls, the prince felt that he was finally free, and he became very happy. He roamed around the land with excitement and childlike zeal, saw wondrous new sights, smelled new fragrances, met new people, and a whole new world opened up in front of him. He felt that his life had completely changed, but he couldn't even begin to imagine how true his thoughts were, and yet how drastically so.**

**__**

**__**

**"The prince didn't know how, soon, he would get to make new friends and enemies in this new world, and innocently uncover deeply-buried, unbelievable secrets; how he would fall into trouble and fight for his own survival and of others', and get tangled up in an intricate mess of war, magic, friendship, betrayal, loss, power, and resolution. He was as oblivious to his fate as you are, my dear, but not for long, because soon, the prince found himself standing in front of his fate, brave and fearless and powerful against the strongest of enemies- he emerged out of this chaos victorious, and became a different man altogether, and do you know why?**

  


**_"It was because in the outside world, the prince fell in love."_ **

********


	2. New world strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo wanders around the vibrant kingdom of Nekoma, and bumps into various strangers along the way. Also, a few new people are introduced from his life, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY, my exams are done for the semester (for good or for bad, only time will tell), and because I have a lot of time on my hands now, updates might be a teensy-weensy bit faster... No expectations though, cause I'm hyped up on the third season of Boku no Hero Academia as of the moment, and writing often goes out of the window these days. Anyways, this chapter needed a lot of revision, and when i tagged long chapters, I _meant_ long chapters, so if it puts you off, or if you get bored along the way, I'm really truly sorry! This chapter is unedited, because I was getting sick of reading the same lines over and over and procrastinating to post this chapter, so all mistakes shall be cleared later.
> 
> (Also, to avoid any confusion-- the flashbacks start with the first paragraph in italics, and end in italics, too, so keep that in mind!)
> 
> Anyways, I hope people would still be able to enjoy this, as much as I enjoyed writing it, so with that, I'll excuse myself, and happy reading! See you downstairs~ !
> 
> EDIT: also, I cut a scene at the end of this chapter, to shorten the length, and it will be included in the next chapter. To all those who read this before, this is for your information, and those of you who are newly starting this, just carry on~~

The bright light of the morning sun flitted across the busy streets and corners of the Eastern Market, and even though it was still pretty early, several flocks of people- in pairs and groups, or some just by themselves-, roamed around the dusty, cobbled streets, and went about their own activities. Down the winding roads, at regular intervals, tall, darkly tanned men with gold and metal anklets on their wrists, and the intricate symbol of a burning flame carved with ink on their naked chests, were set to work beside the tall fire-posts, extinguishing the ever-burning flames of the lamps that kept the land alive at night- now that the sun had finally awakened. The raging fires complied easily into the skilful hands of the powerful yet ever-patient Flame-workers appointed by the royal palace, and once their job was complete, all of them could be seen retreating back into their respective homes scattered all around the neighbourhood,- sleepy and exhausted from keeping the flickering, breathy lights burning into the darkness all throughout the night.

The light bustle of the streets increased steadily, as doors upon doors housing a plethora of different magic workers with various different powers opened from the inside, and all of the adult, self-earning individuals spilled out of their abodes to sleepily start another busy day of their usual lives. Several fragrant bunches of roses and heather hung down from the ivy-covered roof of an elderly potion maker's shop, and a couple of young, beautifully fair maidens with long, flowing ponytails took up the task to feed the hungry water-dwelling birds that waded across the small, custom-made pool situated just beside the market entrances- the water upon which they stood creating small ripples under their feet, and yet neither of them show any signs of drowning. A group of five-six children ran all around the pool's banks, laughing and playing with the stray stones and twigs and flowers that followed them, magically floating along in the air with just a swish of their tiny, chubby little fingers.

  


All in all, it was the beginning of another busy day in the kingdom of Nekoma, with the vibrantly packed markets on the eastern and western side of the land being the most noisiest places in the whole area. As usual, even though a lot of the crowd comprised of the magic workers and users, the most common group of active individuals in there would easily be the early-rising shopkeepers.

They took up every available space in the market, their shops all begging to be opened and busied upon, and while some of these shops stood high and majestic in the heart of the populated region, most of them lay cramped among the sidewalks and the people, but were interesting nonetheless. The shopkeepers cared for nothing and paid attention to anything but their surroundings, immensely busy opening their own businesses the earliest of all, and even if someone came up to them and shouted in their ears at that particular moment, that person would be completely disregarded by that busy individual.

  


One such busy, and a slightly unfortunate grocery shopkeeper- a burly, fat, heavily wrinkled man looking a little over his forties-, stocked up the piles and piles of food grains and veggies on the counter of his shop with tender care, and he was so completely engrossed in his work that he didn't even register the rather clumsy movement of short, young limbs behind his body, and the feel of his small, richly-filled leather-skin pouch- containing a little of his money and a few silver trinkets for his wife- being sneakily snatched away from the tight hold of his belt around his flabby waist.

  


By the time the shopkeeper finally reached a hand around his waist and felt that his pouch-holder was considerably emptier than before, the small, sneaky, and rather young thief clad in tattered robes, with a shocking mop of blazing orange hair flying on his head, and gifted with admirable speed and reflexes, had already ran far, far away from the now angry and finally aware shopkeeper. When he finally stopped, just a little out of his breath, and all of his bones now strong and awake, he was almost scarily lost in the throes of people walking around and almost pushing into him, deep inside the Western market, but a lot more closer to his home than before.

Pumping his fists high up in the air, Hinata Shouyou quelled down his instantaneous urge to yell out a cry of victory, and instead, opened up his lips wide into the air, out towards the sky, as if letting out a silent scream. A harmless circlet of brightly glowing flames erupted from his feet and encircled his body once before extinguishing, as if his magic itself was responding to the thrum of energy and excitement running throughout his body. With a large grin breaking out on his face, he pulled up the dark, patched up hood a little over his face once more, and securing the stolen pouch safely into the deep pockets of his worn out trousers, he began walking again, looking for his next victim, and thanking the stars above for granting him such a grand piece of luck so early in the morning.

  


__

_/ / /_

  


"Don't you dare try run away from me again, you insolent brat!"

  


A loud, angry yell ricocheted around the carpeted walls of the reserved library room, as a fuming, slightly short form of a human with dark peachy hair and pristine, simplistically adorned clothes of white and vermilion stood up loudly from a long table near the book shelves, his hand slamming hard against the wood, and almost creating a dent into the flat surface, and the sound instantly freezes the retreating steps of his ignorant junior. His white, pointed coattails float dangerously behind as his thick magical aura intensifies in his rage, and sends of a couple or more books tumbling down unceremoniously from the bookshelves, to the polished floor.

  


"Y-Y-Yaku-san..."

  


Yaku Morisuke stood tall and menacing before his undoubtedly taller companion, and his controlled yet strong show of magical prowess was enough to keep his hyperactive and scatter-brained junior at bay. His large, bright brown eyes narrow down in an impressive glare, and as he sees his younger cousin lift one of his feet in a very clumsy attempt at slinking away from the library even though he knew he was in trouble, Yaku folds his arms authoritatively across his chest, and manipulates his magic a little to let another stack of books and files fall down from the shelves, purposefully this time, and effectively stops the younger boy dead in his tracks.

Despite their great difference in height, Yaku still managed to look scary and utterly terrifying, and to any innocent stranger, Lev would strongly recommend not be the reason that angered Yaku like this. Like, he had been at the receiving end of his demonic wrath too many times to be fair, but Lev still found himself scared out of his wits for his safety every time something like this happened.

  


"Y-Yaku-san, please calm down... Even the books are getting scared,"- Standing well over six feet and a few inches, his cleanly combed and neatly parted silver hair complimenting the dark blue robes clad over his own body, Haiba Lev, the tallest and ironically, the youngest of all the aspiring nobles residing in the Nekoma palace, felt his knees trembling just a little bit as he tried- in vain- to tone down his older cousin's imminent fury, and lessen the huge punishment of stacks of homework- and one or two hits to the head- that he would surely receive later. Lev knew that it was his own fault for falling into this situation- like all the times he had managed to anger Yaku by some of his deliberate antics-, but the noble could never understand the need to _study_ so many things about the history and types of magic and whatnot, when he was actually meant to hone and control his own natural powers. Why bother studying about all of that when he could practice it better in vigorous training sessions instead?

"This is the third time you are trying to skip out on your studies among the five classes you are asked to take weekly- only _five_ " Yaku's anger seemed to simmer down a bit, and his voice took a lamenting tone at the end of his sentence, as if wishing he could take all of Lev's stipulated classes instead (a wish which Lev would absolutely not mind to grant him, if only he could), but his stern undertone never faded as he continued, "If you don't want your work to get tripled, and all of your training classes cancelled for the month, then you better come sit down here, and stop thinking about any excuses to run away for an hour more."

Lev whined, long and suffering, but proceeded to sit back down on his seat on the table, across Yaku, yet again, and with a flick of his wrist, Yaku calmly manipulated his magic to pick up all the fallen books strewn over the library floor, and make them magically float across the distance and position themselves at their respective places, like they never fell in the first place. From the corner of his eyes, Yaku noticed as Lev mesmerizedly watched him use his magic, and despite his anger, a small bubble of fondness crept inside Yaku's chest.

  


Just like Lev still got scared of him when he was angry, even after staying for so long together, Yaku could still not get used to feeling better about himself as his brother watched him with his wide, emerald, appreciating gaze whenever he casually displayed his magic, too.

  


"Yaku-san, I know I've said this many times, but your magic's really cool, y'know?" Lev murmurs lowly, folding his hands over his notes and resting his head upon them, eyes not at all leaving Yaku's fingers, which now skimmed normally through the pages of a thick book he couldn't remember the name of.

"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, Lev," Yaku knew the younger noble didn't really mean to flatter him to get out of his studies- it was simply not in his nature-, but he feared that he would himself get soft on Lev, which would only serve to hamper Lev's studies only further, so he needed the younger to stop before he suddenly got a free break the whole hour he was supposed to study with his older cousin.

  


Really, Yaku would have a lot easier time if only Lev wasn't this disinterested in studies- he had the brains, the potential, the concentration, _everything_ , but he just wasn't interested in trying enough-- trying enough in things he somehow didn't _want_ to try. Really, the youngest noble was turning out to be a lot more like the second oldest one of the castle, and in the worst ways possible.

  


Thinking about Kuroo, Yaku remembered that he hadn't seen the dark-haired man since early evening last night, and he was about to ask Lev whether he had seen Kuroo around the castle or not, when the door to the library slowly opened, and in peeked the one who was the best person to divulge information on Kuroo even better than Kuroo himself.

"Oh, I apologize for the intrusion, Yaku-san, Lev-san," Akaashi bowed down deeply, and from across the table, Lev's attractive light green eyes brightened up, and a giant grin lit up his face, as the monochrome-clad valet cautiously stepped into the library, his head still slightly tipped down in formal respect.

"Akaashi-san," Lev exclaimed warmly, and though Yaku wanted to scold him for getting distracted so easily _again_ , he was kind of glad that Akaashi came here, too. The valet was bright and intelligent, and was the most efficient observer of people and happenings than anyone of his social status was expected to be. Also, maybe, he was the only one in the castle who could exactly list down the places Kuroo might be wandering off of to, if one ever lost sight of the second oldest noble- which was a pretty frequent occurrence inside the castle.

  


Akaashi smiled a small smile at Lev's cheerful greeting so early in the morning, and nodded his head once in acknowledgement- his ingrained polite, formal shell of a behaviour slowly peeling off, and a little of his genuine personality peeking through the well-kept facade. Contrary to popular rumours around the castle, Akaashi was not some kind of an expressionless, cold-hearted, unaffected individual, and he _did_ have normal, working emotions and expressions just like the rest of them. He believed in appearing polite and respectful and formal when he went about the castle, even when he was in Kuroo's company, and it was understandable- but defying all misconceptions, Akaashi was actually pretty close with all five of the Nekoma nobles (four, if you count out Yamamoto, because he was much more interested in being the general of the army than a minister or the King), and maintained a good, amicable friendship with each of them. He was the closest to Kuroo, both of them growing up while being joined at the hip from their late childhood, and seemed to be the most fond of Lev, who was younger than him, referred to him with honorifics even though he didn't need to, and despite his long limbs and unaware and blunt personality, had an uncanny power to gain a soft spot in anyone's heart, who got close enough to properly know and make an acquaintance out of him.

Yaku's gaze found Akaashi's dark teal orbs, and narrowing them down in part curiosity and part exasperation, the oldest noble asked, "Hey, Akaashi, have you seen Kuroo around anywhere? He's usually up by now, but he wasn't at breakfast today, and I don't think I saw much of him last night, too."

Lev nodded his head vehemently, seeming to remember the exact same thing about Kuroo just as Yaku stated them, and after a small beat of silence, Yaku received the most unusual answer he would have ever expected to get from the dark-haired valet.

  


"I'm sorry Yaku-san, but Kuroo-san was feeling really unwell last night," Akaashi's face was a mask again as he replied calmly, "So he retired early, but was quite late to wake up, which is why he couldn't attend breakfast this morning, and he is still probably resting in his chambers right now."

  


"Kuroo-san is unwell?" This time, it was Lev who spoke Yaku's mind, while the older simply went on staring at Akaashi for sort of elaboration. "Was he sick, Akaashi-san?"

"He did complain of a headache, and a mild stomach upset after dinner last night," Akaashi stated unblinkingly, though his voice had a hint of pity attached to it in really small, almost negligible amounts. "I checked up on him this morning, and he says he feels quite healthy, but the exhaustion is still there."

"Oh, I see," It was unusual, hearing about Kuroo being sick so suddenly in the middle of a couple of harmless, perfectly accident and incident-free days, which were pretty rare to come by (justifying Kuroo's absolutely tainted image around the castle), and to think that the noble would miss breakfast for a slight bout of unhealthiness was really worrying. A concerned crease pulling at his brows, Yaku pinched his nose in consideration as he mumbled to himself, "Maybe we should go and check up on him a little- who knows what he ate these days to make himself so sick, so suddenly. Kuroo being sick isn't a daily occurrence, after all."

  


"Yeah, we should visit him soon..." Lev reamarked as casually as possible, "How about we go right _now_ , Yaku-san?"

  


Yaku glared at Lev in a futile attempt to scold him wordlessly for trying to make up excuses yet again to skip his studies- really, what was his problem with it? Was Yaku the only noble out of the five Nekoma heirs who cared about and _liked_ studying in the peaceful libraries?-, but the silver-haired noble just grinned ear to ear at his expression, and Yaku sighed a deep, lamenting sigh for himself. Lev was going to absolutely turn him mad one of these days.

"Yes," he answered in positive anyway, because his obsession with books and knowledge surrendered to the underlying worry for his troublesome brother. "Yes, we should go see him, _now_ , and see that he doesn't fall into much more trouble than he already has. Akaashi, would you mind escorting us there? And Lev, arrange your notes back in place before you get up from here."

Yaku was busy talking with Lev, and that was probably the only reason the noble's sharp, experienced eyes failed to notice the slight widening of Akaashi's usually collected orbs due to some kind of indiscernible panic and urgency and _fear_. In the split second within which Yaku turned his head away from an overexcited Lev and back towards Akaashi, the valet had successfully managed to put his calm, expressionless mask back on. "Actually, Yaku-san," Akaashi tried to keep his voice as unaffected and normal as much as he could, and it worked, to an extent, "Kuroo-san told me this morning not to let anyone come to him today, as he wanted to spend some time alone in his room."

"Spend some time alone?" Yaku's eyes narrowed again, though not from concern this time, but from suspicion- Kuroo didn't sound sick, he was acting completely _unnatural_ now, and this was beyond concerning. "We're his brothers- surely he wouldn't mind _us_ to visit him?"

Akaashi pursed his lips a little, and his teal eyes picked out the way Yaku's eyes narrowed down further as he took in the subconscious gesture of the valet. The royal heirs to the throne of the kingdom were all opposing in their natures and personalities, their diverse quirks making them a little unbalanced, but the most revered group within the castle, but the only thing all five of them shared with each other was the Nekoma blood that ran through their veins, holding the three major qualities that ran into each of them in different quantities- magical manipulation, strength, and _observation_. Kuroo was by far the most balanced noble out of the lot, holding each of these qualities in ample amounts within his carefree facade, but Akaashi knew that out of all five, Yaku was by far the most observant of all. Lev was good at picking up on little clues and hints about the situation, too, but Yaku's careful nature truly made him a formidable opponent to fight and fool, especially with lies.

Akaashi knew that he and Yaku were the most similar when it came to things like these, and he had to be extra careful around the noble to see that the cover that he had carefully carved out for Kuroo would not be busted by just a small mistake of his. This was a battle of intellect now, and Akaashi was not going to let Yaku win it.

  


He was never going to let him find out that Kuroo was, in fact, not even there in the castle, and that Akaashi was just blatantly lying to everyone in the face whenever he informed them of the noble's apparently _sick_ disposition.

  


"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you visited him, " Akaashi's voice was levelled and clear as he said these words, "But I've been ordered to see that absolutely _no one_ is to disturb his privacy for all the time he wishes to be left alone, and I cannot go against Kuroo-san's wishes. Please understand my reasons, Yaku-san."

"I _understand_ , Akaashi," Yaku replied tersely, "But I think even you know how unnatural Kuroo is behaving with all of this. I fear that this is no normal headache, and I have to go and meet him."

Akaashi nodded his head once, like he agreed, but he still tried to protest as he said, "I understand it well, Yaku-san, but Kuroo-sa-"

Yaku cut the valet almost abruptly as he firmly stated, "Lev and I are going to meet Kuroo, Akaashi, whether you escort us to his room or not. I know that you are bound by commands, and I'm not telling you to go against them, but do not try to force my wishes the other way, too."

  


Akaashi barely managed to curb in the urge to clench his fists by his sides, because it would be a huge giveaway to his internal panic and helplessness, and he just stood his ground, tense, with his head instinctually bowed down a little, as Yaku got up from his seat at the table, and walked defiantly past him, an uncharacteristically quiet Lev following behind. Even the youngest noble, who was sometimes too dense for his own good, had picked up on the small spark of a devious _something_ that had sizzled in between his two seniors for just a fraction of a moment. Both Yaku and the valet had started on an invisible feud with each other just because each of them cared for Kuroo's safety in their own individual way, and Akaashi had to give in because he wasn't on the same level where he could fight the noble. He cursed Kuroo's charm to make everyone care about him so deeply even though he did nothing but add more unnecessary trouble in their lives, and for once, he loathed the fact that he was born a valet, and not a royal noble himself.

  


Any time now, Yaku and Lev would go over to Kuroo's room, open the doors, and not find him there- or anywhere around the castle, at all. Akaashi's cover would be blown away, Kuroo's secret will be out, and while Kuroo would be let off with a heavy reprimand from his teachers (and quite possibly, from the King, too), Akaashi would be fired from his job, and exiled from Nekoma for life. He would never get to see Kuroo ever again, and the rest of his banished life would be spent trying to survive the everyday hell of living in the streets of some other village or kingdom he had no familiarity with. Everything would be over now.

  


The library door creaked loudly behind him, as he imagined Lev opening the door out dramatically for Yaku to pass through, trying cheer up the older's noticeably disturbed mood just a little, but as Akaashi waited for their footsteps to fade away from the library- and he now actually clenched his fists in despair at his sides-, the footfalls stopped abruptly, and the sound of another, distinctly different steps made their way into his ears- a sound that he was _intensely_ familiar with.

  


Swivelling around almost furiously on his heels, his unfeeling mask slipping off completely to display large, shockingly wide teal eyes and an open mouth, Akaashi noticed how Yaku and Lev stood surprised as they faced forward towards the open corridor themselves, and out into the distance, emerging mysteriously from the shadows and looking the most regal in his crimson royal robes and in the glittering, unfiltered sunlight, Kuroo Tetsurou smiled his usual welcoming grin towards the three of them, and waving his hand up a little as he walked closer, he greeted them all with a, "Hello there, you three- how are you doing?"

  


__

_/ / /_

  


_The moment Kuroo took his first step inside the actual land of Nekoma, the one and only thought that he found himself thinking was, "Oh my god I can't believe I'm doing this!!". The next time Kuroo found himself having a rational thought at all, was when he registered the painful bump in his forehead right after he walked straight into a tall, twelve-feet stick of metal with a burning blue flame over it, too drowned in wonder and awe to care much about his immediate surroundings, and that brief connection of his body with his rational mind somewhat went along the simple lines of, "Oh fuck, I think I'm lost," (excuse his use of such illicit language for the time being)._

  


The kingdom of Nekoma was _huge_ ; like, Kuroo wasn't saying this due to his admiration towards the place (which was pretty huge, too), but he was confidently stating a fact right now. The streets were wide, with footpaths built on both sides for the easy commute of passengers; shops of different shapes and sizes selling a thousand and one things of thousands of varieties littered all along the Market streets of the city. Due to his studies about the kingdom as a noble (or whatever basic classes he couldn't end up skipping), Kuroo had learnt that the Kingdom comprised only of the central city of Nekoma, and a few scattered villages situated on the outskirts of the city. There were two market districts in total, one in the East, and one in the western border of the city, so though was considered to be a comparatively smaller kingdom among all the other nations, in reality, the places were all so big and vibrant and busy, that it was impossible not to get lost here. Also, it was very easy to muddle up all the local landmarks if you were a complete stranger here, which was completely the case for Kuroo, and because he had never imagined the outside world to be like this, he was a lost, hopeless mess.

Hesitantly, he had stepped inside what looked like the road leading to the Eastern market of the city, because it was the nearest one from the castle, but the area was so busy and so crowded and so captivating and _exciting_ that soon, Kuroo forgot how to follow the obvious plan he had made up in his mind before he left the castle, and instead, he started walking in whatever direction his overwhelmed mind decided to lead him towards. Technically, he was well and truly lost, but in all honesty, he didn't seem to be much bothered by that alarming factor. It was _fun_.

The only thing that wasn't fun was when the realization hit him, that he was actually lost within the crowded enclosure of a thousand unfamiliar souls, in a very unfamiliar place, and the instant he seemed to register this, a sudden swirl of strong confusion and panic set in. There were too many people around, to many lights, too many sounds, too much to register, and too many things unfamiliar. Kuroo needed to get out of here, out of this place,- out of these brightly colourful streets, away from the swarms of busy, uncaring people- and away from the confusion and cacophony of mixed noises. No one knew him here, courtesy to the Royal family (except the King) to be kept so hidden within the castle walls, and no one seemed to understand the steadily worsening situation that was slowly clawing its way and building up around his brain. Coming out of the castle was reckless, was impulsive, was a _mistake_ , and he truly felt the essence of Akaashi's fear now, now when he found himself so away from the only place that had ever been familiar to him in this vast kingdom. 

  


He needed to go back to the castle-- he really wanted to go back _home_.

  


With his mind whirring in a panic, and his feet swaying a little as he was pushed up and about by the throngs of people in the ever-evolving crowd, Kuroo's mind went blank as he resisted uselessly against the strong, intermingling flow around him, and he lost himself into his darkening fears, his legs tripping over one another and ready to throw his body face-flat against the gritty asphalt, when suddenly, instead of the ground that greeted his face, his body overbalanced and stumbled into the strong back of another person, dressed up in bright draping robes, and certainly into not a tall pole made up of strikingly polished metal. Or the footpath, for that matter.

  


"Ow! Hey, please watch i-- oh, I'm sorry, are you okay?"

  


Kuroo's mind buzzed as the foggy feeling in his mind cleared, and the loud noise of the people and his surroundings flooded back into his auditory system. Looking up, the raven-haired noble was greeted by a pair of dark, slanted brown eyes that looked straight at him with unbound surprise and apology and _concern_ , and for the first time in his life, it was a complete stranger that managed to fluster Kuroo from the inside, and make him speechless, rather than the other way round.

"Ah, I-I'm fine," Kuroo stuttered ungracefully, his hand going up to his neck in a bashful gesture. This was awkward, and _embarrassing_. "I'm sorry, I didn't look where I was going."

"Oh, it's okay," the unfamiliar boy, a little shorter than him, smiled kindly in return. His skin looked fair in the dim lights of the marketplace, his small, heart-shaped face splattered with freckles around his nose and cheeks, and a thick, uncombed mop of inversely-pointed green hair sat atop his forehead, a long strand of hair pointing upwards, like an antenna, on top of his head. His hands were thin, and yet, they looked sturdy and light, as if experienced and mastered in an art Kuroo didn't quite know about. He was clad in pale, bright green and yellow robes, with bluish, lace-like patterns sewn over the material, and a dark piece of cloth acting as a belt at his waist. A small, thin piece of string encircled his throat like a necklace, its gold pendant partially covered by his clothes from plain view, and from whatever knowledge Kuroo had gathered about the people of Nekoma through his studies, he was fairly sure that the necklace was supposed to be a symbol of the magic of any magic user in the kingdom. Kuroo couldn't see the symbol carved out on the pendant, but judging from its golden hue...

  


This guy could maybe have an elemental form of magic, probably fire or air, or some kind of a mixed hereditary power. All in all, in Kuroo's eyes, this guy was already one of coolest persons the noble had ever met in his life.

  


All in all, this guy looked exactly like the people Kuroo had imagined to meet when he had jumped down the last step of the ladder from the castle's balcony, and he was surprised at worst, and absolutely elated at best. This boy had dark, warm brown eyes, a kind, open smile, a curious gaze, and he reeked of freshness and youth and _happiness_ overall, and if Kuroo had ever believed that he had taken the wrong step in sneaking out of the castle this night, then all of his fears were dissolved now.

  


Kuroo wanted to talk to this stranger- he wanted to thank him, apologize to him, get to _know_ him, and become his friend overall, and as he parted his lips to let out the first thought that came to his mind, in order to make small talk with this boy and make him interested in getting to know Kuroo, a new, unfamiliar voice cut through the heavy din of the surroundings, and its clear, hauntingly precise and accentuated words rang inexplicably into the depths of Kuroo's already overwhelmed senses.

  


"Come on now, Yamaguchi. We are getting late."

  


"Coming, Tsukki!" the green, antenna-haired boy- _Yamaguchi? What a strange name, but so befitting_ \- replied back to the owner of the voice, who stood a little ahead of both Kuroo and him, and seemed to have waited for at the most three minutes and a half, before deciding to break into their dubious conversation. His ears picking up the inhuman passiveness and equal measure of conviction underlining the soft yet cutting edge to the voice, Kuroo tilted his head a little sideways, to get a better view of this new stranger shrouded in the shadows of the people and floating lights around. His body moved at its own accord, as if the soft lull of the voice beckoned him closer to the person, and as he took the first unconscious step forward (almost sidestepping the boy named Yamaguchi ignorantly), a dim, softly glowing firelight of palish hue drifted closer to the tall shadow, and partially illuminated his facial features. And as soon as Kuroo caught a glimpse of soft pale skin, cropped golden locks, dark rectangular glasses and a transfixing, swirling pair of narrowed, bright, multicoloured eyes, the noble stopped in his tracks as abruptly as he had started on them.

  


_Really, if Kuroo had thought that Akaashi was the most beautiful person he had ever met in his life, then he direly needed to reconsider his choices now, now that he finally had the chance to explore a world outside of the castle walls, whose vibrancy and mysteries only rivalled his uncertain future and unbound imagination._

  


_/ / /_

  


"Oh, it's you, Kuroo." 

  


The black-haired noble had a hard time evening out his breathes lightly, and concealing the fact that he actually full-blown _ran_ throughout the castle in search of Akaashi, but if Yaku could not spot anything weird about him, and call out to him the usual way he always did, then Kuroo had to surely consider his efforts a success. 

The horrendous shock that he had received this morning- the fact that he had woken up on an empty, unfamiliar backyard in an unknown place, and not inside his room at the castle-, and that it had been well past morning, when he was supposed to be back to the palace _before_ sunrise- was slowly wearing off now, but a little bit of his spiked adrenaline still buzzed around his jumpy nerves. He was thankful that contrary to his threats the night before, Akaashi had still kept the makeshift ladder hanging from the rail of the balcony even after the sun was up, and because he knew that it had been a risky move (what would've happened if someone else saw it?), and that his valet had took that risk only for Kuroo's safety, the noble couldn't thank Akaashi enough for that.

"Hi, Yaku, Lev" Kuroo never used honorifics when he referred to Yaku, even though Yaku was a little older than him, because they were only just a few months apart, and as brothers, they didn't really care for such petty things coming in between them. Kuroo didn't mind even if Lev, being the youngest, forgot to regard to him as someone older, but because he had been kicked in the back for that mistake several times by Yaku, the silver-haired noble had well-learnt his lesson for the time being.

"Kuroo-san!" Lev's emerald green eyes twinkled in the sun as he exuberantly greeted Kuroo and ran up to him. "Kuroo-san, good morning! Akaashi-san said that you were not feeling well last night, so me and Yaku-san were just coming to meet you! You found us before we came to you though- did you know we were here? Or were you just coming here to study?" 

"Kuroo- _san_ doesn't _study_ , Lev," Yaku pointedly bit out, and Kuroo's brows quirked upwards at the purposeful jab, "He doesn't study unless he is forced to, and you are dangerously close to following his footsteps yourself."

Kuroo's small grin now melted away to form a bigger, pointed one of its own kind, his hand coming up to his chest in a dramatic show of self-importance and pride, and with a deliberately grating, haughty voice, he replied, "Aww, Yaku- _san_ , were you having trouble keeping my youngest cousin in line? I really don't know why you don't realize that he most obviously takes after a far more _advanced_ individual, who can never be bound by some pointless royal obligations." Kuroo only laughed as he took in the dangerous glare that was thrown his way by Yaku, a visible vein popping up in his creased forehead, and unrelenting, Kuroo continued, "If you want Lev to grow up the fine young warrior he is fated to be, then you need to treat him the way he _needs_ to be treated, and not the way you want him to." Beside him, Lev looked thoroughly elated, and Kuroo couldn't rein in the fondness that slowly crept its way towards his chest.

"Some unfortunate person tried the same with you," Yaku was a very strong competitor when it came to a teasing, bantering face-off, "And I see where it got him- the live example of that very _efficient_ handling method is standing right in front of me."

Kuroo laughed heartily, loud and carefree, and Yaku cracked a small smirk at his direction, too. For the first time since he came back to the castle, Kuroo felt that unlike the hell he thought it would be in here after he had tasted a bit of freedom, he could actually be a little happy here, too. His brothers and his faithful valet were his family here, and even if he went out to journey far and wide around the world, it would be impossible for him to live without them by his side.

  


For the first time since he came here, Kuroo now looked behind Yaku and the tall form of Lev to see Akaashi standing mutely beside the heavy library doorway. His face was indecipherable as usual, but his dark teal eyes were slightly wide, more open and expressive than usual- as if trying to ask a thousand of questions just with their gaze alone. "Actually," Kuroo's hazel orbs never broke contact with his valet's darker pupils as he said, "I actually came here to find Akaashi. I didn't see him much this morning, and the maids said that he might be around here."

  


("Ah, the maids always know who is where," Lev remarked wondrously, and Yaku belatedly realized that the noble was actually _thinking_ seriously about the matter. "How can they always tell where _any_ person can be in the castle?"

"They are just a little more intelligent than _you_ ," Yaku replied without any real venom behind his voice, and Lev looked at him like he had answered all of the Universe's most confusing, life-altering questions with just a few words, making Yaku flinch guiltily. _Damn_ this young, innocent, oblivious brother of his.)

  


"Are you feeling better now, Kuroo-san?" Akaashi politely asked Kuroo as he stepped closer to his valet, and pausing in his tracks, Kuroo realized that Akaashi must've pretended that he was sick or something to cover up for him while he was gone from the castle. Cursing himself for not acting even a little weak or frail earlier to make the lie seem more believable, Kuroo ran a hand through the back of his dark, messy hair, and letting out a nervous laugh (for which Akaashi glared daggers at him almost imperceptibly), he replied, "Ah, yes, Akaashi. I'm feeling absolutely fine right now, so... thanks for asking."

Okay, that was the most awkward answer he could've ever managed to give out, and Kuroo didn't have to see Akaashi's borderline devastated (but still expressionless) expression as he heard Yaku turn around and ask him from behind, "I know you must be fine, since you're out walking so energized and all, but- are you _really_ alright, Kuroo?"

Okay, this was it. "Well, I had a rough night," Kuroo's answer was anything but true, but he couldn't let Yaku get suspicious of him. "But I'm feeling completely okay this morning. Why," he tried to act as innocent as he could without sounding fake, "Is something the matter, Yaku?"

"No matter, 's just.." Yaku shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest as he unsurely replied, "I thought you just became a little formal around Akaashi right now. That's not like you, so the sickness might've gotten into your brain somehow." He tried to sound as sarcastic as he could, but Yaku' eyes narrowed down lightly in anticipation of a response, his alert brown gaze trying to pick out any stray, subconscious reaction from Kuroo that might just prove all of his words to be untrue.

  


Kuroo was now damn sure that he had somehow made Yaku suspicious, and though this sight was actually nothing new for him, he had never been on the receiving end of that scrutinizing gaze before- and had only mocked the poor victims from afar. Was this a payback for all the times he decided to be a real asshole in his life (?), because this predicament definitely _sucked_.

  


So, _this_ was the reason Kuroo had always found it hard to lie to Yaku since the time he had met him- he didn't show it, but the light-haired noble could be extremely observant when it came picking out shifts in someone's usual behaviour, or just around the mood overall. He was finely attuned to everyone's natural characteristics and quirks around him, and if anyone could spot even one of those small, miniscule changes in a persondeliberately trying to avoid suspicion, then it would definitely be Yaku.

Trusting his exaggerating dramatics and sly image which was popular among the castle inhabitants, Kuroo rested both of his hands on his waist, and sticking his nose up in the air, he deepened his voice a little and remarked, "I am a _noble_ , so aren't I expected to be polite and formal all the time?"

Looking at Yaku's disgusted expression, Kuroo believed that his antics had saved the day, but then, Lev piped up brightly beside Yaku and bluntly remarked, "You sound strange and weird when you're polite, Kuroo-san."

"Why you-" Yaku's superior smirk returned in full force, and Kuroo swore that he distinctly heard Akaashi stifling a snort behind him. Exhausted of this whole situation, he began walking down the corridor again, Akaashi automatically following in tow, and with a voice louder than necessary, Kuroo exclaimed, "Yaku, your brother takes on more after you than I would deem healthy!"

"At least he doesn't take after you enough to style his hair like your's Kuroo, and I'm really glad for that!" Yaku's teasing reply followed around his trail like echoes, and grated Kuroo's nerves more than he would like to admit. His hair was a sensitive topic for him.

"Do not harass my hair! You two are the most rudest people I have ever known!" he shouted back without turning around, and expectantly, got his answer in the form of a practised Yaku-Lev chorus, which said, " 's our pleasure! Good day to you too, Kuroo-san!"

  


Just from behind him, now finally in the privacy of their own isolated company, Akaashi's soft, monotonous voice broke out into a fit of laughter, and Kuroo's grin lighted up bright like the noonday sun. He really loved this castle.

  


__

_/ / /_

  


"Natsu!!" Hinata called out loudly as he tiredly clambered through the too-small door to their inadequately spacious, run-down house, and from deep inside the pile of clumsily held pieces of wood and mud and hay, the sound of soft, excited footsteps came barrelling towards the orange-haired boy, who stretched the bones of his hands and back a little before pulling the cloak wrapped all around him, off his body. He ran clammy, exhausted fingers all around his hair, dishevelling his already worn-out appearance, and when he looked down expectantly at his feet, there was a small, nimble-figured mess of fair skin and brown doe eyes and an identical mop of ruffled orange hair looking up, and smiling brightly at him. Her clothes were in tatters, and her glowing face was half-smeared with dirt and grime and an unfair amount of soot, but her smile was a bright as her brother's, if not a little brighter, and a fond, bitter-sweet smile tugged at the corner of Hinata's lips as he looked down at his young kid sister after surviving an unusually long day in the outside world. 

"Onee-chan!" Natsu exclaimed happily, as her large, dark brown eyes widened at seeing her brother. "Do you know, a kind lady gave me a large piece of fish when I went out today, and I cooked it so that we can have it for dinner together!"

"Fish?!" exclaimed Hinata, as a low rumble of hunger gurgled through his empty stomach. "That's, that's really great, Natsu!" He sighed contentedly, finally getting around to recognizing the long-forgotten smell of half-cooked fish wafting throughout the house. "Gods, I'm so lucky I have such a good sister!"

Natsu giggled with a little bit of amusement and pride on hearing her brother, and hugged Hinata's thighs- for that was all she could reach with her small body-, the warmth of Hinata's thick, sweaty trousers seeping a little into her cold bare arms comfortingly. Bending down, Hinata embraced his sister with as much force as he could without crushing her bones, and a moment later, he leaned away, so that he could reach an eager hand into one of his trouser pockets, and bring out a small pouch made of finely sewn leather skin.

  


"I have something for you today, too, Natsu."

  


Wide, elated eyes carefully followed their brother's hands as they hastily opened the dark pouch, and brought out a pair of shining, clear, and intricately carved silver trinkets, carefully dangling them from their cautious grip, and offering them up towards Natsu. A beat of anticipating silence passed, and then suddenly, the little girl was squealing and screaming and crying tears of joy simultaneously, and with trembling little fingers, she held onto the trinkets for dear life as she marvelled how beautifully they shone in the dim light of the custom-made fire orbs. "They are so beautiful, Onee-chan," she gushed disbelievingly, eyes never breaking away from probably the first gift she had ever had for herself in a good few _years_. "I can't believe that you got these for me- thank you so much, Onee-chan!!"

"Well, this is the least I could do, for my beautiful little sister who works so hard on her own everyday, but still has a smile on her face everyday I come back home. Doesn't mean that you aren't a little brat though." 

Natsu laughed with tears streaming down her face, and in all honesty, Hinata felt a strong pang of pain and guilt as he realized just how much a small, almost worthless, and definitely _stolen_ pair of cheap jewellery meant to his younger sister, who always worked all around the clock to make their house a better place day by day. They were poor, undoubtedly so, and Hinata had never found any other free place to safely stay in except for this abandoned cottage too deep into the dark, dreary slums, and though he was pretty accustomed to his situation by now, Hinata felt that Natsu honestly bore the brunt of their poverty in incredibly unfair amounts. Like, most girls her age could be usually seen wearing colourful, custom-made or modestly sewn frilled frocks, with tamed butterflies adorning their dark, neatly tied braids, and frail, stone-encrusted bangles clinking around their wrists. Contrary to it all, Natsu's hear was usually messy, untidy, cropped up to her shoulders, and she barely got into a patched-up nightdress, which was about two sizes smaller than her by now.

  


Hinata didn't really liked to steal things, even though it sometimes had its advantages, and he had never let Natsu find out about his secret occupation. He told her that he roamed about the land in the mornings, searching for a stable job, which was partly true, and they always managed to have at least one decent meal at the end of the day. But when things got really hard (or when Hinata got too frustrated sometimes), the orange-haired boy did stoop down to stealing. It was purely for survival, and maybe for bringing a childish smile to Natsu's face once in a while (he really doesn't know why he couldn't ever manage to keep a job more than three days; was it because of his hair?), and being the only one old enough to run their small little family of two, Hinata realized that in order to keep up these only two priorities, he could stoop down to any measures possible, just to keep himself and his sister safe against all the dangers of this twisted-up kingdom.

  


"Come on Natsu, let's eat that fish you've cooked. I'm starving to death right now!"

  


Nodding happily, Natsu held her brother's hand tightly, the trinkets clasped on the other fist, and gently, she led him from the porch to the only other room with a broken, three-legged table in the middle of it, upon which sat a plate of freshly-cooked pieces of fish, waiting invitingly to be devoured. With happy smiles and hungry stomachs, both the siblings divided the food into roughly equal parts, and went on to enjoy this rare piece of delicacy for dinner, as their small little abode faded away into the darkness, which failed to disperse even by the quaint rays of the moon's shining light.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, there's a lot more to the night Kuroo fled, and well, Tsukishima's intro wasn't really official this chapter, but it was becoming excessively long, and I needed to introduce the other Nekoma nobles early in the story, so I cut a lot of scenes :( But, I promise that the whole of the flashback will be written out on the next chapter, and that Tsukishima will FINALLY appear! I hope that you all didn't get bored between the chapter (the other chapters will be as much long, or maybe longer), and if you did, I really apologize! I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I would be glad if any of you decide to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
> 
> With that, I'll take my leave, and I hope all of you have a good day/night, wherever you are! :))

**Author's Note:**

> ...Okay, so, I hope this is okay? Like, I have had very little experience writing historical fantasy stories, and because I think it should have a bit of dramatic flair, I hope this wasn't an absolute mess... Anyways, if any of you are really interested in reading on further, then you just have to keep in mind that :
> 
> 1) The updates will be very slow, because schoolwork makes me very busy, and I'm a lazy person overall,  
> 2) Comments and constructive criticisms, as long as they are not intended to harm or hurt in any way, are very much appreciated, and  
> 3) This is going to be seriously long ride, so if you are ready to board onto this mess, just comment it down below!
> 
> With that, I'll take my leave, and wherever you are, I hope you guys have a good day/night! :)))


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